Agenda item - SHAPING OUR FUTURE ORGANISATIONAL HEALTH UPDATE

Agenda item

SHAPING OUR FUTURE ORGANISATIONAL HEALTH UPDATE

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Minutes:

Matt Sismey, Equality and Diversity Officer in the Organisational Development and Inclusion Team, presented the report of the Chief Fire Officer which updates the Committee on the organisational development of the Service, including recent past, current and future inclusion activities, as it moves towards a values based organisation with a focus on leadership instead of command and control. 

 

The report details how the Service focuses on the following 3 key areas to ensure organisational health with a variety of approaches:

 

o  an engaged and motivated workforce;

o  high quality services;

o  good governance and financial sustainability.

 

The following points were highlighted and member’s questions responded to:

 

(a)  a staff satisfaction survey is undertaken twice a year with responses monitored and action taken to improve working conditions;

 

(b)  the staff suggestion scheme ‘little acorns’ is proving successful with a wide range of small to major improvements now implemented. The Chief Fire Officer has the discretion to make honorarium payments where suggestions are implemented and have a significantly positive impact;

 

(c)  winter and spring conferences have proved successful with approximately 200 staff voluntarily attending and actively engaging in each session. Attendees had access to an app called Slido which enabled participation by voting in polls and posing questions and suggestions without having to speak publicly;

 

(d)  locally relevant motivational posters have been produced which relate to feedback on local Service activity and achievements, providing a personal link for employees;

 

(e)  Watch Manger development days, Service Delivery Forums, the Springboard Leadership Programme for women, the Future Leaders Programme, and the Coaching and Mentoring Strategy are also included in the drive to develop staff and improve the service;

 

(f)  dyslexia is estimated to affect 10% of the population but is predicted to be of a particularly high proportion in the Emergency Services. The Organisational Development and Inclusion Team have established the Tri-Service Dyslexia Network with Derbyshire and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Services and the assistive software ‘TextHelp Read and Write Gold’ is now available to all staff;

 

(g)  the Service continues to be placed in the Stonewall Top 100 employers;

 

(h)  workforce diversity remains a challenge, particularly as the Service has not recently recruited. Underrepresented groups are actively targeted for recruitment and although the Service generally attracts a proportion of applications which nearly matches the BME working population of 11.2%, it is frustrating that those applicants do not successfully progress through the recruitment process. It should also be acknowledged that some rural populations have a lower than average proportion of BME citizens, so BME applications from such areas will be lower;

 

(i)  staff continue to be engaged in the sustainability strategy and change process and there is an expectation that information shared at middle management meetings is cascaded to staff, ensuring that everyone is informed of changes and developments;

 

(j)  the National Pilot of the Emergency First Responder continues and is proving successful in saving lives which may otherwise have been lost, although there are complexities regarding the impact of firefighters who experience incidents in a very different environment to what they may otherwise have expected;

 

(k)  expansion of the health partnership continues with ‘safe and well visits’, ‘FireFit’ sessions and engagement at the New Community Safety Hubs;

 

(l)  future activity is proposed to include:

 

  i.  embedding of the new ‘NFRSLearn’ learning management system;

  ii.  continued employee engagement;

  iii.  progress of the Aspiring Leadership Programme;

  iv.  more thorough engagement with stakeholders via ‘MyNet’ SharePoint;

  v.  recruitment of wholetime firefighters in 2018;

  vi.  participation in ‘Tap the Gap’.

 

Members of the Committee were keen to highlight that in Local Government, that by ensuring that BME staff  are visibly placed in senior roles, this had a positive effect on BME recruitment.

 

The Chair encouraged members to attend the Equalities meetings (which are held following full Fire and Rescue Authority meetings), to see the work being done to benefit staff and the Service.

 

Members welcomed the achievements to date and the planned activity of the Organisational Development and Inclusion Team.

 

RESOLVED to note the report.

 

Supporting documents: